There are only a few OECD Member countries with a lower tax take than the United States. Nonetheless there are a number of improvements that could help reduce the distortions that taxation creates in the economy and so boost long-run economic performance. The most noticeable gains could come from reforming the taxation of the income from capital. Savings are not always allocated to the area where they have the highest return, as there are large variations in the tax on capital income depending on the sector in which it is invested and the financing instruments that are used. In addition, taxation of capital income favours present over future consumption with a negative impact on savings and capital accumulation. In the past, a number of proposals have been made to reduce the tax burden on saving, by replacing the income tax with a consumption tax. While in many ways this would be the best approach, it is would represent a major change in a system that has evolved gradually ...

Vers une fiscalite plus efficiente et moins complexe

Il n’y a seulement que quelques pays membres qui ont des recettes fiscales moindres que celles des États-Unis. Néanmoins, il y a un certain nombre d’améliorations qui pourraient aider à réduire les distorsions créées par la fiscalité dans l‘économie et dynamiser ainsi les performances économiques à moyen terme. Les gains les plus sensibles pourraient venir de la réforme de l’imposition du capital. L’épargne n’est pas toujours affectée aux domaines offrant les rendements les plus élevés, de grandes disparités existant selon les secteurs dans lesquels elle est investie et les instruments financiers qui sont utilisés. En outre, l’imposition des revenus du capital favorise la consommation présente plutôt que la consommation future avec un impact négatif sur l’accumulation de l’épargne et du capital. Dans le passé, un certain nombre de propositions avaient été faites pour réduire le fardeau de la fiscalité sur l’épargne en remplaçant l’imposition sur le revenu par une imposition de la ...

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Paper provided by OECD, Economics Department in its series OECD Economics Department Working Papers with number 313.

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Keywords: tax policy; taxation; United States; États-Unis; fiscalité; politique fiscale;

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H2 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue

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1. Thomas Dalsgaard, 2005. "U.S. Tax Reform: An Overview of the Current Debate and Policy Options," IMF Working Papers 05/138, International Monetary Fund. [Downloadable!]

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